Holdback attachment for vehicles



(No Model.) v

R. W. PRATT. HOLDBACK ATTACHMENT FOR VEHICLES. N0. 596,617. r PatentedJan. 4,1898.

I r 1 a? a y WITNESSES 11v VENTOR dam 7 W ,flaZ/vZLWF/flii "sums PETERSca, Puma-14mm" wnsmna'rou n c UNITED STATES PATENT -OFFICE.

RALPH TV. PRATT, OF ORWELL, NEYV YORK.

HOLDBACK ATTACHMENT FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 596,617, dated January4, 1898.

Application filed February 19,1897. Serial No. 624,086. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH W. PRATT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Orwell, in the county of Oswego and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Thill Attachments; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention has reference to anovel construction in attachments forthills, and has for its object the provision of a device which will takethe place of the ordinary side straps and breeching-straps of harness.

The invention consists in the novel features of construction hereinafterfully described, claimed, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings,in Which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention attached to thethills, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, partly in section.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, 1 indicates the thills, andsecured to the same are the securing-plates 2. These securing-plates 2are provided with the elongated concaved portions 8, which are adaptedto fit upon the upper sides of the thills, and with depending clampingportions 4,

which are adapted to embrace the thill, as

illustrated. Upon the lower sides of these clamping portions 4 are thelugs 5, which are perforated, as are also the bottom walls of theclamping portions 4. The lugs are perforated, and adapted to take theperforations of the same are the thumb-screws 6, which have the washers7, secured to their extended ends on the inner sides of the clampingportions 4, which washers prevent the thumbscrews from being entirelydisengaged from the clamping members. By means of these thumb-screws thesecuring-plates are fixed to the thills after having been slippedthereon.

Secured upon the upper surface of the securing-plates 2 are the curvedarms 8, which extend upward and rearward, as illustrated. These armsform spring portions at their curved ends and are bent downward andflattened adjacent the spring ends, as illustrated at 9. The extremitiesof these arms are slotted, andin these slotted portions are attached theextremities of the breeching 10. This breeching 10 is attached withinthe slotted portions of the arms in any suitable manner-as, forinstance, by a pin 11, passing through the slotted arms of thebreeching.

Upon the under sides of the spring portions of the rods are formed thedependinglugs 12,

which are screw-threaded. Passing through these lugs are thethumb-screws 13, which pass at their lower ends through the plates 2 andhave Washers 14, secured to said ends on the under side of thesecuring-plates, so that the said screws are prevented from beingentirely disengaged from the securing-plates.

By means of the thumb-screws 13 the arms may be adjusted for raising orlowering the breeching, as desired. Itwill be understood from the abovedescription that the arms 9 take the place of the side straps and thatthe breeching is supported and secured to these arms, where it remainspermanently in position, and all that is necessary in harnessing thehorse is to attach or detach the tugs from the shafts, the side strapsand the breeching remaining in position. It will be understood that thesecuring-plate is adjustable at any position upon the shafts and can bereadily secured in its adjusted position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination with the thills, of con caved securing-plates adapted torest upon the upper surface of the thills, said plates provided withdownwardly-extending clamping members adapted to embrace the thills,rods looped at 'their forward ends and secured to the securing-plates,said rodsbeing slotted adjacent their opposite ends, adjustingscrewspassing through said rods and engaging the securing-plates, and a strapconstituting the breeching adapted to be detachably secured in theslotted ends of the rods, substantially asset forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwosubscribing witnesses.

RALPH W. PRATT.-

Witnesses:

Dnwirr CARPENTER, M. L. SPINGSTEEN.

